Apollo boys earned a First Region Championship on Saturday, while Daviess County was close behind in third place to qualify for state.
The Eagles stole the show in the boys competition, having four runners finish in the top-15 with Thomas Ashby’s first place finish of 15:54.35 leading the way. Emmit Brock (16:59.42) and Noah Gray (17:01.74) finished seventh and eighth respectively, while Blake Mullins (17:09.70) finished 12th and Josh Thomas (18:38.54) finished 30th to round out their top-five.
This is Ashby’s second straight season grabbing first individually in the regional meet, as he will be looking to finish with a state title following his state runner-up finish in 2021.
The Panthers finished third as a team, posting an average time of 17:35 with Nolan Kurz’s third place finish (16:42.97) leading the way. Brayden Kaelin (17:24.08) finished 14th behind Kurz, while Bryson McGary (17th, 17:39.15), Asher Alvey (21st, 18:01.75) and Zach McCaslin (23rd, 18:08.36) rounded out their top-five.
While qualifying for state as a team in third place, the Lady Panthers also qualified for state by finishing first. Head Coach Josh Bratcher was pleased with their performance, finishing well despite their gameplan not being executed perfectly.
“On the guys’ side we tried to focus on keeping contact with each other throughout the race,” Bratcher said. “Not necessarily side by side, but within kicking distance of each other. We fell off the plan a little bit which cost us some place positions in the race. However, both teams are going to state and that’s where it really matters.”
Bratcher and company now turn their attention toward the state meet, as they will look to continue to build on their steady improvement in hopes of bringing some hardware home.
“Both teams will be advancing to state,” Bratcher said. “The main goal is to work out our race plans, maintain fitness, and continue to trust in our training… “I am extremely proud of the way our team has shown continued growth throughout the season. We look forward to the State meet and continuing our progress this season.”
